Special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald has made it clearer than ever that he was hot on the trail of a coordinated campaign to out CIA agent Valerie Plame until that line of investigation was cut off by the repeated lies from Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
...
[W]hen his motives have been attacked during court proceedings, Fitzgerald has occasionally shown flashes of anger --- and has hinted that he and his investigative team suspected more malfeasance at higher levels of government than they were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

In Friday's eminently readable court filing, Fitzgerald quotes the Libby defense calling his prosecution "unwarranted, unjust, and motivated by politics." In responding to that charge, the special counsel evidently felt obliged to put Libby's crime in context. And that context is Dick Cheney.

Froomkin's eminently readable report goes on to cover admissions (yet again) from Fitzgerald which demonstrate that Plame was indeed covert when she was outed --- for the first time in the history of the country --- by our own Government, much less members of the Executive Branch possibly as high as the Vice-President or even higher.

MSNBC reports on the new covert status confirmation (yet again) for Plame, describing a newly declassified employment record released by the CIA, which (yet again) underscores the point:

The employment history indicates that while she was assigned to CPD [Counterproliferation Division], Plame, "engaged in temporary duty travel overseas on official business." The report says, "she traveled at least seven times to more than ten times." When overseas Plame traveled undercover, "sometimes in true name and sometimes in alias --- but always using cover --- whether official or non-official (NOC) --- with no ostensible relationship to the CIA."

We look forward to the outpouring of corrections and retractions from disgraced GOP attorney/disinfo expert, Victoria Toensing, and her many ass clown supporters in the rightwing blogosphere who reported otherwise --- in no uncertain terms --- for years on end. Those apologies will be coming in any second, no doubt, since the wingnuts are always so very good when it comes to their appreciation of journalistic ethics and the like.

Froomkin's WaPo report focuses on Cheney's involvement in leaking the name of the covert CIA asset, quoting from Fitzgerald's recent court filing: "The evidence at trial further established that when the investigation began, Mr. Libby kept the Vice President apprised of his shifting accounts of how he claimed to have learned about Ms. Wilson's CIA employment."

And this: "[T]here was an indication from Mr. Libby himself that his disclosures to the press may have been personally sanctioned by the Vice President."

He quotes much more on what Fitz had to say in his filing which drew a bead most directly, for the first time, onto the man who still calls himself Vice President of the United States and concludes the point with this:

I suspect that people looking back on this story will see it with greater clarity: As a blatant --- and thus far successful --- cover-up for the vice president.

Give it a read for all of that, as well as the amusing argument the defense is now making about why the letters of support for Libby that they've had sent to the Judge, requesting leniency, should not be released to the public (Hint: It's those nasty bloggers again!)

UPDATE: Plame's former CIA classmate Larry Johnson, an ex-spook himself, takes a well-deserved victory lap which begins: "Victoria Toensing, Cliff May, Byron York and the other rightwing apologists who have long insisted that Valerie Plame Wilson was not undercover have some 'splaining' to do." Uh, yeah. But don't hold your breath, Larry.

So when and how can Fitz re-open the case? Or does a Congressional Committee have to pick up the investigation as part or prelude to an impeachment procedure? I'm not looking for vengeance (as the mainstream press would, of course claim) but to do something that would prevent future would-be Cheneys from trying to subvert the rule of law. Actions must have consequences and bad actions must have bad consequences. Preferably, the bad consequences would be enforced by the law.

I wonder if Cheney is going to buy a mansion on one of those palm shaped/continent shaped man-made islands that they're building over in Dubai ?
He'll probably buy the one shaped like D.C. so he can pretend to be the dictator of it once he's finally ousted for treason and gets the medal of freedom. Even Halliburton will be an easy commute for his once a year board meeting.Link

Lied repeatedly to the Amercian people, and turned the world against us.

And the only folk who could come after him, The Department of Justice Just Us is now a religious enclave of Pat Robertson U. (a.k.a. "Whatsamatta U") where the bushie holy warriors are bunkered down singing "come and get me coppa" to the tune of "Amazing Grace".

Brewster Jennings was an important covert CIA front company specializing in nuclear proliferation and acqusition in the Middle East primarily focusing on Iran. It took the CIA multi millions of taxpayer dollars to create and maintain.

War mongers and profitteers don't want good intelligence, it hampers their ability to lie us into another war against Iran. Neo-cons are always looking ahead to create the reality they desire to 'con' us into.

It does not take a genius to connect the dots and understand why Bush/Cheney destroyed Plame. The Wilson discredit Rovian spin was all smoke and mirrors from the start. Brewster Jennings was the target and good people were killed and intelligence efforts destroyed as result of its intentional exposure and demise.

Mark my words. The Repubs will start impeachment against Bush/Cheney, and remove all doubt that the Dems are spineless wimps. It will be a true Rovian work of art.

I'm not so sure Vman, outing the Brewster Jennings outers could lead us back to what Sibel was silenced for amd into the illegal weapons sales by our own military contractors via the Turkish institute, AIPAC and Denny the Fat Bastert, Both parties would fall apart...he-he.

I don't think it's right, and I think the Cheney's are getting a pass from the CMSM, that they are the "anti-gay" party, and they have no problem with their daughter being in a lesbian marriage with a child. It's "celebration time", they want us to join in and celebrate their new grandchild from their daughter's lesbian marriage! See how proud they are! (those f*cking HYPOCRITES!!!!!!!!!)

The way I see it Betty, Valerie was starting to look into those illegal weapons sales thru Turkey that Sibel was seeing at the same time trying to figure out where they were coming from. Some think that they were trying to smuggle WMDs into Iraq to be found at a later date by the same route.
By outing Plame, that put a stop to that investigation.
I'll bet a good chunk of Congress was involved in covering this up via campaign contribs, with Hastert and Cheney being the central figures.

War monger liars and corporate war profitteers don't want good intelligence, 'bad intelligence' is their scapegoat and key to their 'long war'.

The Wilson spin of the 'discredit critics angle' is pure Rovian spin and misdirection. Brewster Jennings was and always was the true target.

Interesting side note: Plames operation intercepted a shipment of WMD's headed through Turkey to Iraq prior to the invasion. Douglas Feith ws a registered agent for Turkey for many years. If Plame's operation had not stopped the WMD's the Bushies would have had their weapons plant. Bushies and the neocons are always thinking ahead and 'controlling he reality' They were looking towards attacking Iran from the start, and didn't want any pissant CIA agents getting in the way.

"The letter noted that Under Secretary Feith was a registered foreign agent for Turkey from 1989-1994 while serving as a principal for International Advisors Inc., and that he was a special assistant to Richard Perle at the Defense Department,"
Link: http://wotisitgood4.blog...and-feith-and-perle.html

This is TREASON!!! The number one impeachable offense. Period...Finito...End of Story if you stick with the base unvarnished truth instead of the spin and deceit.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World oil prices jumped briefly on Wednesday after a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma --- the No. 62 U.S. media market --- posted an erroneous story about a refinery fire on its Web site.

At 10:14 EDT (1414 GMT), CBS affiliate KOTV reported that a lightning strike had caused a fire at an Oklahoma refinery --- sparking a flurry of excitement among energy traders and boosting U.S. crude prices 40 cents.

The refining company announced the story was "completely wrong" and the station withdrew the story.

"All it takes is a screw-up on a Web site to move the market. It just goes to show how tense this market is," said a Houston-based oil trader.

A string of refinery problems in the United States has propelled retail gasoline prices to record highs in recent weeks.

Now imagine war with Iran...the 4th leading crude oil producer on the planet. I'll remind you all that there are two US Navy carrier groups in the Persian Gulf right now.

Imagine a war where Iran attacks Saudi Arabia, a US ally, and the #1 producer of crude on the planet, and #1 exporter to the US. Or to be more specific, what happens if Iran destroys the largest oil refinery on the planet, which happens to be in Saudi Arabia.

Sure we can nuke Iran after, but it won't help you eat. The real peak oil issue is food (that won't have tractors to grow it or trucks to bring it), sooner or later we will all have to deal with that, every day all year long.

I think $10 gasoline will wake up even the idiot, beer-drinking hicks, religious nut jobs, and "loyal Rethuglicans" to the fact that they have been lied to, cheated, stolen from, and generally screwed.

Economically Iran will have us by the balls if the Iranian Oil Bourse ever comes online.

"In March 2007 The Scotsman reported that China's state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, the biggest buyer of Iranian crude worldwide, began paying for its oil in euros late last year. Iranian officials have said for months that more than half the OPEC member's customers switched their payment currency away from the dollar as Tehran seeks to diversify its reserves, but news of the Zhenrong change is the first outside confirmation. Japan have also announced that they would be willing to switch to Yen from US Dollars.[12] Iran's central banker announced in March 2007 that Iran had cut its holding of U.S.-dollar assets to around 20% of its foreign reserves in response to U.S. hostility" Wikipedia

I suspect the Dems in Congress were assured by Bushies that the WMDs would be there in Iraq, even if they had to be put there. And, the Dems went along, except maybe they also warned someone at Brewster Jennings to be on the lookout for some WMD heading to Iraq.

Today they warn us left and right that one small move and the oil supply dries up, leaving us all livin' like 1800s farmers. No mention of course of why they shut off research into alternative fuels during Reagan's administration.

I wouldn't even be surprised if our researchers, who came up with the stealth airplane and the neutron bomb, have come up with a great alternative energy they're witholding from the public. Cynicism runs rampant when those in charge lie freely and regularly.

If "The Powers that Be" can conspire with foreign powers to bring about the downfall of an American president, allow the importation of cocaine on CIA airplanes, perhaps create the HIV virus to kill off gays, lie about WMDs in Iraq, allow New Orleans to die, steal elections and even withold a cure for cancers, then what else might they do without public knowledge or support?

Is it cynicism at that point? Is it paranoia when there's proof there are dangerous people? Isn't it just wise for us to be on guard and to hit back hard when they harm America and Americans?

HUNTINGTON, Conn., May 30 /Christian Newswire/ --- On May 23, 2007, the White House, silently and without any fanfare, released an official White House photo of Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, welcoming their sixth grandchild, Samuel David Cheney, into the Cheney fold.

The beautiful little tyke weighed in at 8 lbs., 6 oz. and was born at 9:46 a.m. at Sibley House in Washington, D.C.

What is extremely troubling is the official White House caption that appears underneath the photo on the official White House website:

"... His parents are the Cheney's daughter Mary, and her partner, Heather Poe. White House photo by David Bohrer."

Since when have two homosexual women been able to naturally procreate?

Fact is Mary Cheney, the Vice President's daughter - in one way or another - received a male's sperm. She is the biological mother, parent number one, and some man, somewhere out there, is Samuel David's real biological father, parent number two.

Unlike the official White House photo caption, a man and a woman, a Daddy and a Mommy, are Samuel David Cheney's REAL biological parents.

Then who is Heather Poe?

Heather Poe is Mary Cheney's live-in lesbian lover. She may act like a parent, she may treat the baby as a parent, she may love this baby with all of her heart, but in this reality we all live in, Heather Poe is NOT the baby's real parent. She has NO biological connection to the child whatsoever. Some man, the baby's real Daddy, is the child's other REAL parent.

If the Vice President and his wife Lynne are joining their daughter Mary in playing this homosexual game of "house," then all have chosen their roles and designated lesbian lover Heather Poe as the "Daddy."

Everyone knows there can only be one REAL biological Mommy. We are all grown adults. Playing "house" is a game for children, not for The White House or the Vice President and his wife.

What is so hypocritical of this Administration is its "double-speak."

President George W. Bush held several presses conferences calling for a Federal Marriage Amendment to protect the God-ordained institution of marriage between one man and one woman, while homosexuals pushed for the union of two men or two women to be equally recognized as real "marriage."

However, the President's number two, right hand man, Vice President Dick Cheney, clearly rebels against his superior, makes a public mockery of the President and the current Administration he is supposed to represent, and clearly holds to a different set of moral standards and beliefs.

When President Bush stood on the victory stage several years ago after being elected into office by values voters, Mary Cheney was on stage as well with her lesbian lover, Heather Poe. It was a slap in the face to the values voters who had just elected the duo into office. That wound has never healed.

While this little innocent child Samuel David Cheney deserves every fighting chance at life, the sins of two women, Mary Cheney and Heather Poe, have deliberately denied the Vice President's grandson one of the most basic human rights of all: the right to a Daddy and a Mommy.

I say shame on the White House, shame on the President and shame on the Vice President for allowing such a caption to be "officially" added onto the White House website and such a beautiful photo of two happy grandparents and their new grandchild.

I guess we can tragically and officially say both the White House and Bush Administration have officially recognized the sinful sexual unions of homosexuals, as well as recognized and embraced the tragedy of the social experiment of homosexual parenting.